Questions and Revelations
by Leo-firefly
Summary: After Jack dies, Alex is devastated. Clearly that's what the heads of MI6 are thinking when they call an interview for the famous Alex Rider. But can Alex use this opportunity to reveal what MI6 did to him? Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first Alex Rider fic...so don't be toooooo mean, OK? **

**Heheh anyway, this is after Jack dies, so Alex is obviously pretty depressed etc...**

**DISCLAIMER – I own nothing :( I wish I did, but this entire world is the amazing story of another person :( (danngg)**

**Anyways...ON WITH THE 'STORY'!**

'Alex!' someone yelled.

Alex jumped. Normally he was more alert, but he must have lost focus, or something. He looked around hurriedly. Who was yelling?

He sighed when he remembered he was in class. Mr Fosbery was glaring at him. The teacher hadn't liked him since he started disappearing for his missions, or in this case, his 'sickness'.

'Mmmm?' Alex responded, to the reddening teacher.

'I asked you a question!'

'Umm...yeah. I sort of realised. What were you asking me?' Alex responded lazily.

'You were _obviously _not listening.'

'No, I _obviously _wasn't. Otherwise I would have answered,' he snapped. He knew it was a mistake, but he honestly couldn't care less.

Mr Fosbery's eyebrow went up. 'Excuse me?' He reddened some more, if that was even possible. Right now he look like an _extremely_ fat tomato. Alex stifled a grin.

'That's a detention for you, Mr Rider. I would have hoped by now that talking like that to your _superior_ is not the correct behavior in this school.' Those who hadn't looked up from their work before, were now staring intently, some at the teacher, some at the boy.

Alex had bristled at the word, "superior". Mr Fosbery was _not_ superior over Alex. Alex was tired of stupid men claiming they were the better person, just because they were bigger, or older. The grin that had he had valiantly been struggling against, was gunned down mercilessly as Alex came to terms with his punishment.

Mr Fosbery was fat, lazy and to be honest, quite dumb. Often Alex (and he wasn't the only student) knew more than Mr Fosbery did. In fact, he quite looked like the plump, shaven version of Damian Cray.

On more than more occasion, Alex could have sworn that Damian Cray walked into the class in the mornings to teach English.

In Alex's world, Alex was superior. He was smarter, faster, fitter and stronger than the older man, to list the common factors. And that's what you needed to survive in his world. Not age – and Alex had proved that many times over.

When Alex hadn't responded to the statement, however, Mr Fosbery snapped him out of his thoughts, 'Alex!'

Alex looked up at him from his desk, and raised his eyebrows. 'Sir!' he mimicked Mr Fosbery's aggravated tone.

'You will answer me when I say something to you! Is that clear?'

Alex didn't say anything for a while. _This reminds me of Brecon Beacons,_ Alex thought. _Just like the sergeant. _Finally, he sneered, 'Yes, _sir.' _

He was tired of all these people trying to control him. He was not a bloody _toy. _It was bad enough that MI6 gave him enough trouble, after Jack died.

_No, _Alex thought, _not that name. You do _not _think about her. Ever._

He shoved the thought to the cramped space in the back of his mind – things he refused to think about.

MI6, however, didn't care that Alex's housekeeper, and closest friend had just died. In fact Alex was sure, that he would get a call anytime soon, from them.

_Alex, we need you to complete this one mission in..._

_Alex, it's just a small..._

_Alex, it's for the good of the country..._

_Alex, the country needs you..._

And perhaps the most infuriating things they used to say to him:

_It seems, Alex, that your housekeeper Jack, well...she might need to visit her mother in America?_

Or, _You never know, something might come up and her VISA will expire, don't you think?_

Alex would then just grit his teeth and get on with it. What else was he supposed to do?

But they had tried to convince him to go on a mission to Africa recently. He had gotten a call, saying it was regarding the house and Jack's funeral. What a lie that was.

As much as Alex despised the building, he would still walk through the bank any day for Jack.

But this time, what did they have against him?

Nothing, and they knew it. As soon as the funeral plans and such were dealt with, they went straight onto trying to ship him off to another continent.

They used the _country needs you_, and _do it for us, _but Alex would hear nothing of it. He was in no state of mind to go on another mission just after Jack had-

_Stop it, _he growled mentally. He refused to think of her.

So he had stormed out of the bank, with Ms Jones following him to the doorstep. As she tried to grab his shoulder he shook her off, and gave her the finger without looking back.

So here he was...sitting in a bland English room with absolutely nothing to do. He already knew the work of _Shakespeare_ the class was studying, so he was sitting, looking at the various posters around the room – the failed attempts of colour, to try and make the place more interesting.

After what seemed like years, the lunch bell sung loudly outside the classroom.

Alex didn't have any food – he woke up too late and forgot – so he would have to go hungry for the morning.

Occasionally Doris the canteen lady would give him pick of what wasn't bought that day, or on some good days she would sneak him one of the better choices. Other than Tom, Doris was one of the few people Alex could actually have a conversation with, without subtle (or not so subtle) questions thrown into the chat about his absences.

When people challenged him about his not-so-plausible excuses, Alex often used these opportunities by telling the people far-fetched stories to see what sort of things would spread.

The theory on Alex's recent absence wasn't far from truth – in fact, it was about him blowing up a rocket in outer space. However how he got up there – or back down – remained speculation.

As Alex walked to the canteen, ex-friends whispered and stared at him with unguarded eyes. If Alex was in a bad mood, he would often glare back at them, but today he just didn't have the energy.

The buzz of his phone attracted even more eyes. He pulled it out and saw the number on the screen. Alex had put the name on as _Do not pick up. _However he recognised the long thread of numbers.

But, just to stir up some people around him, he smashed the answer button with his thumb and held it up:

"Uh-huh?" he growled.

"Alex, before you hang up, we have to tell you that there is the review that must be taken by every..._employee_, by the heads of our company," Ms Jones rushed out.

Alex eyebrows rose – heads of british intelligence? Wouldn't that just be Blunt?

No, if Blunt wanted to talk then they would just tell him to come.

"Mmmkay...What if I refuse to come in?" he faked a cheery voice.

'Well...it isn't optional. But- but Alex, this is the best option. If you don't come in voluntarily...then..." Alex laughed as she trailed off.

"_Force? _You would come to my house, and _force_ me to come to your little interview?" Alex couldn't help from grinning.

"No," the voice gained confidence, "we would come to your school – _today_ – and we'll take you from there."

Alex stopped in his tracks. The people listening and watching started, registering the shock on his face. Not much startled Alex.

He sighed – he wouldn't win this one. He thought he would have escaped the dreaded bank and the people part of it, once Jack had died. Obviously not.

"What time?"

"As soon as possible." Alex couldn't see Ms Jones, but could hear the triumph in her voice.

"Fine. But this is the last _fucking_ time I will see you guys. I come to this, and you leave me alone, otherwise I will do something about it."

"But Alex -"

"No, just shut up," and he hung up.

People were staring at him openly now. Alex could imagine the rumours that would go through the school once he skipped next class.

Alex forgot about the canteen run – the talk had made him lose his appetite. So, he simply slipped his phone into his pocket and turned on his heel.

When he was just stepping off school campus, a teacher (Alex thought) called his name, but he ignored it. He got to a bike rack around the block, outside a deli, and undid the lock.

It took ten minutes to ride to the 'bank' and he walked in, bike included. Leaning the bike against the far wall, Alex proceeded to walk into the lift that would take him to floor with Blunt and Ms Jones.

The security didn't stop him – they saw him enough, unluckily for Alex, to recognise him as one of their own – and he sauntered straight through.

Eventually the doors reopened with a _ding_, and Alex stepped out. Walking down the hallway, he found the gray door that led to the equally gray man.

He didn't knock. He simply slammed open the door, striding across the room to slouch down on the only empty chair.

He didn't acknowledge the other 5 people standing around the table.

When no one said anything, Alex growled, "Let's get this over with, then."

"Alex, may I, uh, speak with you privately?" Ms Jones asked.

Alex raised an eyebrow, but didn't deny the request.

They walked outside, where Ms Jones quickly started talking.

"Alex, this is a review on your character and mental well-being in the job. They found your file very...interesting. Your review would have been next year, but I'm afraid they thought to bring it forward. Best get it over with they said. Now, they are going to be asking some strange questions, but I suggest you answer them how you think a boy your age would answer. Blunt and I, we think it's best if you appear to be no more than a teenage boy – otherwise they might try to use you on other missions. And if they think that you are no longer mentally stable, then they will get you _help_," she warned, emphasising the word 'help'.

_Wow, straight to the point, _Alex thought.

"So make sure you say the right things, OK?" Alex smiled slightly and nodded.

They walked back in, and Blunt was standing now, the other five people sitting around the table.

Alex sat straight down, and looked at each of them directly. For a while, they simply sat studying each other. Eventually, Alex got bored and started reading old texts on his phone, simply uncaring of them writing notes down.

"So, Alex, how are you?" A man on his left asked.

"I'm just _fantastic._ And how are you?" he asked sarcastically. Blunt glared at him from behind the strangers. _They wanted teenager? Then they'll get teenager – moody, bored, snappy...everything._

He grinned inwardly.

The man gave no response, simply scrawled down some notes and didn't look back up.

After a pause, a woman on Alex's right asked him:

"Who is your closest family member?"

Why were they asking him this? They would have all of this on file.

_They want to see my reaction to their questions..._Alex realised.

"Tom Harris," with a blank face.

"And how is he related to you Alex?" she asked again.

"We go to the same school," he growled, looking at Blunt. If Alex was never involved in this then there might have been a proper family member to list. Not that he was related to Jack anyway, but he felt closer to her then he did anyone else.

"But you're not related to him?"

He looked at her blankly, "Is he in my file under the list of living relatives?"

Eyebrows raised, she shook her head. "Then I guess we know the answer to that question then."

Then a thought hit Alex. If these were the heads of the British Intelligence... He looked up at Blunt, who was _standing_. He saw his apprehension, the only trace of emotion on his weathered face.

Theywere _his_ superior.

And so, then he could reveal their blackmail, once and for all. Blunt must have seen the realisation on Alex' face, and Alex couldn't help but grin. Blunt knew that Alex knew.

Before he could say anything, Alex chimed. "Next question then."

"What is your biggest fear?"

He gave it pause for thought – he had to make it sound normal, but hinting. Hopefully they would get the drift and ask him some more revealing questions.

If he just blurted out what MI6 did to him, then it would be totally his fault for telling them – Blunt wouldn't be happy, basically.

"Being trapped probably," he pretended to admit shamefully.

The woman saw it wasn't an entirely truthful answer and asked if he would elaborate.

"Oh, you know. Physically. I guess you could say I'm slightly claustrophobic. But more so mentally – you know, if people have you trapped in little games if your being tortured. If they can use things against you." He looked up again at Blunt meaningfully and the man winced, ever so slightly.

The woman wrote notes down again, then she asked another question.

Not really a question. It was full throttle, straight to the point.

"Tell us about Jack."

There was a pause, and Alex was almost shocked. He should have expected it though. It's probably why they were having the meeting earlier.

Alex didn't show anything physically, but mentally he was screaming at himself, warning him not to open the dusty cramped box in the back of his mind where he hid memories of Jack.

Finally, he looked her in the eyes, and answered.

"No."

This time they were surprised.

"That wasn't a question Alex. Tell us about Jack."

He laughed bitterly, and growled, "_Make me."_

They looked at Alex in surprise – Blunt and Ms Jones in irritated expressions.

To answer the faces, Alex hissed, eyes narrow, "You have no right to ask me after she just recently died. If I was never involved in this business, then she wouldn't have died, would she? So, _forgive me_,' he said sarcastically, almost wanting to add a little bow, "if I don't want to tell five complete, emotionless robots who have no concern for someone like me. And don't give me all that crap of, _to be in this business, you must not grow attachments._ Well guess what? I'm not an adult. I don't want to handle situations like this. So I see no reason for you to get angry at me for not answering your unreasonable question."

It took a moment for the heads to regain their composure. No amount of training had prepared them for a remark like that. Finally, the woman snapped out of the trance and said, "OK, Alex. We respect your feelings towards the matter." They probably didn't push the subject further, simply because they got a response to the question and that's all they needed. But they still wrote notes down. The scratch of their pens on the paper annoyed Alex immensely.

There was a break while they wrote down several notes and talked among themselves quietly. Alex simply glared at them the whole while, occasionally switching to Blunt and Ms Jones.

Finally:

"Do you have a role model? An inspiration?"

Alex, having recovered from his previous rant, grinned (still somewhat angrily) – this was too perfect. "Mmm, there aren't many people that _inspire _me, if you will. But I could say this one man did help me on more than one occasion. He spared my life a couple of times, as well as helping with some of my _extra _training."

There was a pause, while the heads waited for an answer. During this time, Alex stared up at Blunt, showing no emotion. Simply satisfied. He finally had the opportunity to crush Blunt. The man that had screwed his life up for so long. The man that had sent him on mission after mission after mission.

"And can we know who this man is, Alex?"

The teenager laughed, "Yassen Gregorovich, of course!"

The heads paled. "Alex, you...you knew who that man was, right?"

Alex looked confused...how should he play this? "What? You mean the man that worked with my father? The assassin?" he paused and gave a shark smile to the heads, "The one who sent me to SCORPIA for training? Yeah, I knew that man."

The heads still looked pale as they turned to Blunt and Ms Jones. The woman asked, "How were we uniformed of this...this event?"  
>Before the startled pair could respond, Alex feigned more confusion, "What do you mean? Don't they tell you where I was for that time? Ha! Well, to tell you briefly, I was sent to SCORPIA by Yassen Gregorovich to join the organisation. And I did join. I learnt more in that short time then I did while I was here. Especially, you know, combat fighting, shooting and so on." Alex didn't mention that the people in SCORPIA respected him more than MI6 did. Neither did he mention his attempt on Ms Jones life either.<p>

Continuing, he flicked his chin towards Blunt and Jones, "Didn't they tell you about all the missions they made me do?"

He didn't emphasise the last few words, but the heads heard the statement. They seemed to ignore the long statement before the last few words. They turned slowly back to Alex; "Made you?"

Thinking about it later, Alex would wonder why they hadn't told their superiors what they made their little blonde minion do. As young as he was, Alex had been told – and hated the fact – that if you wanted to survive you had to obey your superiors. At least that's what Alex was told by people. And you certainly wouldn't keep secrets from people as big as these five seemed.

This might be his last - his only - opportunity to expose MI6, and Alex wasn't going to waste it.

"Yeah, it's not like I _wanted _to go on all those missions. But they didn't give me much choice about it – especially with Jack," he swallowed, not entirely sure himself, whether he was acting or not and continued, "...with Jack having a VISA that could 'expire at any moment.'" He mimicked Blunt. "I had to go on the mission or else they would send her back to America, and send me to some crappy boarding school." He paused and let his acting skills to kick in, (not that he needed them), "They blackmailed me." He said the three words with a perfectly straight face.

Blunt was turning pale; it looks like their little interview wasn't going as well as they had hoped. Not much showing off of their secret weapon here.

"So your saying you had no choice in the matter of your missions?" Alex nodded.

"And just how many missions were you forced to complete?" the woman didn't look up from her notebook.

"15, since I started."

"And you started...?"

"When my uncle died."

"Ian Rider I presume?"

"Obviously." Alex was growing tired of these bombardments of questions.

One of the heads smiled slightly at his bored remark – despite the situation. Alex wasn't bored, but he didn't want to make a big deal out of this. The heads could do that themselves.

"Just a few more questions, Alex." The man that smiled said to the teenager.

Eventually, one of the heads (one that hadn't said anything so far) seemed to pluck up the courage and ask, "If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?"

Alex had to think about this for a moment. What would he be? He didn't want to be a spy anymore...but he couldn't go back to school and have a proper education.

He wanted to be a footballer, and had been told he had the potential – though he himself doubted it – but he didn't think he could do that now.

"I'd join SAS, as soon as I could. I don't want to be a spy, so as soon as I can, I'm getting away from this place," he motioned broadly, "Then I don't know, just stay in SAS I guess. I didn't entirely enjoy my team from the SAS training, but I'm sure that if I went back there now, they might respect me more. I apparently wasn't worth much to them back then. Nothing more than a hindrance, I guess."

"And when would you join? Would you go back to school first?"

"No, I know all that I need from there. Like I said, I would join the SAS as soon as possible."

"OK. What quality do people have to have – what should people _be –_ to live in this world, Alex?"

They didn't specify what they meant by 'this world', but it was fairly obvious. The man wouldn't be asking about the life outside espionage.

Thoughtful eyes trailed around the bland room. _Almost as bad as my English room._

Finally, "Capable."

And he left it at that.

All eyes trained on him, "And do you think you are _capable?_"

"Anyone with a 100% streak is obviously capable," he said gruffly, no smile on his face.

"Thank you Alex. If the other heads and I could have a private word with Mr Blunt and Ms Jones now, please?"

He laughed and smiled at Blunt. "Of course."

As he turned away, he let himself smile, ever so slightly – he might have just exposed Blunt for the monster he was. Alex closed the door and walked on the spot, slowing making the noises quieter and quieter – eventually it sounded like he had walked away. Finally he heard a strained voice from behind the door.

_Sucks to be you, Blunt_.

**Should this be a one-shot? Or should I have him go onto Brecon Beacons? I dunno, whether or not it's in this one, I'll do a story where he goes back. What do you think?**

**That little review button down there looks lonely. Maybe you should click it ;)**

**T xxx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2! **

**Wow...I actually made it this far?**

**That's pretty amazing right?**

**Hahaha, I won't lie – I'm quite proud of myself. (Tiny little brass band playing on my shoulder: DUH, DUH DUH DUHHHH!)**

**Alright, I'm all good. Ok, so I basically made this up on the spot, so don't hate me if it's bad. **

**I always do that; I write the first chapter then my brain fizzles and sparks out :(**

**But this time, I'm determined! I _will_ write a second chapter. Even if it's awful. Which is sort of pointless isn't it?**

**Anyway – enough raving, time for the depressing part (I'll be surprised if anyone has read this far...if anyone has and you're thinking about reviewing, can you say that you read this? I've always wondered if people do actually read the long raves authors often put before the actual story...) **

**The depressing fact: I don't own anything. I'm quite poor. So no, I don't own Alex Rider...(if only).**

**Onwards!**

A tall, blonde-haired boy coughed as his previous ride bustled away, leaving a plume of dust in it's wake.

As the obscuring cloud cleared, Alex took in the familiar camp. He knew he would probably have days of regretting coming back to Brecon Beacons, but he knew deep down, this was probably the only place he could ever feel at home. If the soldiers let him feel that way.

Despite being too young*, and the fact that he hadn't gone through one of the starting army groups**, Alex had convinced the heads that he would be best off here. At first they were hesitant – despite Alex saying school had nothing else for him, they felt he should be older before he joined the SAS. Alex had just given them a blank stare. He had gone on _quite_ a few missions after all. And they were saying he wasn't mature enough?

Finally he had convinced them, after a bit of posturing and veiled threats about revealing what MI6 had done. The heads would either be ridiculed for sending a teenager to do their dirty work, or they would be laughed at for not knowing it had been happening the whole time.

Alex pulled his headphones out – his iPod was out of battery anyway, but it was awkward just sitting in the jeep, when the over friendly driver kept trying to talk. Alex's headphones were the only thing between him and the man, and Alex thought that the man probably understood the deliberate shun.

_That's probably the reason for his particular exit..._Alex grinned.

Alex looked down at his uniform. It was already covered in a thick sheen of dust.

_Thanks mate,_ Alex thought sarcastically.

Wiping his hands down his uniform, Alex walked towards where the man had said Sergeant's office was. Not that he had forgotten. He stopped trying to clean his clothes when he realised his hands were now as dirty as his uniform was.

A couple men gave him curious glances as he strode towards the Sergeant's office, but none looked at him twice. For a brief moment, he wondered what was so different now; it hadn't been that long ago that he was here for his training before his first mission. Then the obvious came to him; he must look different. Alex never noticed a difference, but Tom always said he looked different each time he came back to school. Older, more mature. It made sense.

Once at Sergeant's hut, he entered after a brief summons from inside in response to his knock.

"Ahh...Samuel Keys is it?"

"Yes, sir." Alex was reminded about the incident with Mr Fosbery, only recently. Hadn't he been thinking about the Sergeant then?

"And how old did you say you were?"

"I didn't, sir." The Sergeant's eyebrow went up. Alex continued, "But I'm presuming it says it in my file, sir?"

"It does indeed, but I was intending you to answer, soldier."

"19, sir." The Sergeant looked down at the file, then back up to Alex. No doubt, that's what his file said. The heads said they would set him up with a new identity, and never bother him again.

_Pfft, I'd be surprised if they never bothered me again. But I guess there'll be a new head. Maybe they'll be different. _The heads said that Blunt and Jones had been fired and had left it at that. Alex had no idea, whether there was more that happened, but frankly, if they were gone, that's all he cared about.

They hadn't told him who would be the new _Blunt_, and he was guessing they never would.

_Oh well, I guess I don't really need to know if I'm out of the business anyway._ Alex let himself grin slightly – he was finally _free_.

Sergeant snapped Alex out of his little victory dance in his mind, when he started talking again.

"Very well. I've been given a _very_ thin folder on you, but I'm not one to question that. You'll be assigned to H-Unit. You will share a cabin with them and you will train with them. Unless seriously injured, you will be given no help, and no one here will take it easy on you. Is that understood?"

Alex nodded, then followed up with a verbal affirmative.

Alex remembered them saying this to him when he first came here. At first he thought it was because he was younger than everyone, but he guessed now that they said it to every recruit. Or maybe it was because whenever he came here he was just slipped into a unit, with no questions to be asked.

"Everyone has a codename here. The members in your unit are Lynx, Shark and Dog. From now on, you will be Owl of H-unit. The files of your new team members are here, which you may read here, but they are not to be taken outside this cabin."

"Yes, sir."

Alex, now Owl, waited until Sergeant had left before he picked up the first file on the table. Examining it, he saw Jacob Dallas, known as Lynx. In the next file he saw Rex Walsh – Dog – and finally Reggie Clayton* as Shark.

_Reggie?_ _No wonder he needed a name like Shark...compensation much?_ Alex smiled.

It was written however, that Shark was the unit's medic. Alex's eyebrows rose in surprise; for some reason he didn't expect Shark to be the medic. Alex thought maybe it would have been Lynx, but then he read that Lynx was the unit leader.

_Fair enough – I guess a member can't be both medic and leader...too much stuff to manage._

Scanning his eyes over the past injuries – skipping over things like broken fingers and noses – Alex registered the fact that Lynx had dislocated his shoulder on multiple occasions. His eyebrows rose when he saw that Dog had broken his back when he was 16. Apparently doctors thought he wasn't going to get out of his not-so-permanent wheelchair.

_He sure proved them wrong then. _Alex locked this away in his mind for future references – he needed to know his teammates weaknesses after all.

Lynx and Shark also had an old bullet wound and old stab scar respectively, on Lynx's shoulder and Shark's leg.

Alex presumed that he would have a file about him given to his teammates, and he wondered if they had already read it about him. Even more, Alex wondered if they knew he was joining him, and was especially looking forward to their reactions if they didn't.

Just as he was finishing, Sergeant walked back inside the cabin.

"Are we done Owl?"

"We are. Perfect timing!" Now-Samuel-Owl grinned, getting a blank face in return.

"As I'm guessing you would have realised, your unit gets a file on you too. They are waiting outside, so I'm guessing you get out before they get rained on and get annoyed." Sergeant glanced out the window at the gray, rolling clouds.

Not for the first time, Samuel wondered if Sergeant or K-Unit would recognise him.

Samuel stood at attention until Sergeant looked at him appraisingly and dismissed him.

As he opened the door outside, three men who fit the description from the previous files looked up expectantly, only to realise it wasn't Sergeant. Groaning, one of the men – Shark - sat back down onto the rusty bench outside the door. Lynx sat down with him. Dog stayed standing, and asked, "Who are you? I haven't seen you around camp before."

Samuel looked Dog up and down quickly, sizing him up out of habit. Finally he responded, "Yeah, I'm new here. I'd be surprised if you had seen me round." He finished with a lazy smile.

"What's your name?" Dog continued, seemingly not satisfied with answer. He appeared friendly though, which Samuel was grateful for. If he had the same welcome as he first had with K-Unit, Sam wouldn't be happy.

"Sam."

"No, no. Your code name."

Alex laughed and Dog grinned.

"Butterfly. My name is Butterfly. You must be Dog right?" Alex could tell this was the typical Eagle; it seemed every unit had someone who spent their time trying to keep everyone laughing, which honestly, in these conditions, was a marvelous thing.

"Butterfly? Wow, sucks to be you. And yeah, I'm Dog. Uhh...how did you know?"

"I'm psychic – all butterflies are." Dog gave him a blank stare.

Samuel continued, unperturbed by the lack of understanding of his sarcastic remark.

"Well, I best be off. Minds to read you know...I have a busy schedule." Again a blank stare. Sam sighed, already having given up on hoping to get a laugh at the right time.

"Uh, never mind." _Awkward..._

Just as Sam was turning away from the Sergeant's cabin, the man himself stepped out.

"Sam, do you know where you are going?"

Turning around, Sam responded, "Sort of. I'm sure I can find my way there. If I can't find it, I'll just ask someone, sir."

"I expect you to be at training with your new unit tomorrow morning."

"Sir, if you don't mind me asking," Shark cut in, "what unit is...Butterfly in?"

Lynx, having not said anything, was trying to hide a knowing smile by coughing. Unfortunately it just attracted attention to him. He must have given up trying to hide it, and was now smiling openly.

Sergeant just looked confused. "Butterfly?" He asked Sam.

Sam coughed awkwardly and looked at the ground. Looking up, he said, "Yes, sir?"

Sergeant's forehead creased, "Ugh, never mind. Your pack will be in the cabin, out that way," he pointed up the steep hill all the cabins were on, furthest away from anything, it .

The longest trek.

"Yes sir." Sam took the Sergeant turning away as dismissal and he turned, to start the long trek up the rather intimidating hill.

"Oh, and by the way," Sam turned back hastily. He obviously wasn't dismissed.

"Yes...sir?"

Sergeant smiled. "Welcome back."

****I don't know what it's like in England, but I'm guessing you have to go through one of the other army groups as well, like the navy, or just army or whatever... **

***And again, I'm guessing it's the same in England, and that Alex would be too young to join...but like I said - guessing.**

**Alrighty...it seemed a bit rushed, and I know I skipped out all the _What happens to Blunt and Jones? _Stuff but to be honest, I'm quite lazy. Plus, I'm not sure how many people want that sort of thing. So I'm sort of just saying, you know, make it up in your head :) hahah**

**No but seriously, if loads of people want me to do it, I could, I dunno, put a flashback or something in there. But I'm not kidding, I'm not sure what would happen to them.**

**I'm not in MI6 after all...(cough)**

**Hehe, anyway, I'm sorry if I haven't responded to your reviews and stuff. It's just my internet is down. And I've never got so many reviews! YAY!**

**Alright, that's enough of that.**

**Lol jks.**

**x T**

**PS. sorry it's so short...D:**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok, so I'm sorry to all those people who waited. If anyone did. And I know that almost nobody will actually be reading this AN, because I left one in a previous chapter asking people to say 'I read it' or something in a review (Yes, a cunning strategy to get reviews – feel free to use it).**

**I think one person actually said something. Whether or not people just aren't bothering to review, or whether you aren't reading it, I'll never know...**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Damn.**

Alex had unpacked the essentials by the time his new unit had come back. When he heard the keys in the lock clicking, he hastily rubbed away as much soot as possible off his face.

When the first of the men walked into the room, Alex turned to face the door. Lynx didn't say anything when he saw Alex, just raised his eyebrows in disbelief. When he stopped walking, and Dog careened into the back of him, Alex heard an exclamation, "Wha-? What's wrong?"

"Turns out I was right, guys."

"What? No way." Lynx was pushed out of the way by Shark and Dog.

When they did get a sight of Alex, they looked confused. "Why are you covered in...mud?"

"Soot." Alex corrected him, smiling. His teeth looked blindingly white in comparison to his face.

"Ok...why are you covered in soot?" Shark ventured.

"I didn't have a key. Since when did these cabins have locks anyway?"

"Wait, you didn't have a key. So – oh," Shark looked at Alex in astonishment.

Lynx asked curiously, "You didn't think about waiting for us?"

"I didn't know you would be so quick to come back. And who's chimney is _that _dirty? Why were you so fast to come back anyway?" Alex queried, completely unperturbed by Dog, who, after figuring out why Alex was so dirty was staring at him in amazement.

"When we asked if you were our new room mate, Sarge didn't really tell us. He just said, 'If he is, I would get your sorry arses back to that cabin before he blows it up.'"

"Oh. I'm not that bad." Alex' lip quirked. The other three were left wondering whether he was being serious or not.

After a short, yet awkward silence, Lynx extended his hand. "Welcome then. We're H-Unit. This is Dog, obviously. Shark," he pointed, "and I'm Lynx. But you knew that didn't you...Butterfly?"

"Umm...it's actually Owl," he replied awkwardly, "And, uh, yeah I did." He tried a charming smile, in hope they wouldn't make him start lying already.

"Ok. How do you know our names?" _Crap._

"Sarge told me." Again with the smile. It didn't seem to be working. It was slightly frustrating that H-Unit was asking him questions already. I guess they wouldn't just let a new member turn up without any interrogation. _It's in their nature. _Our _nature. _Alex corrected himself mentally.

"Ah, cool." Lynx smiled, but looked thoughtful.

"Have you been here before?" Dog asked. It was so out of the blue that Alex let his cheerful mask slip.

"Uh, no. Why?"

"You know, Sarge and all." With no response, Dog continued. "'Welcome back_?_' What's that about?"

"Ah," Alex laughed, as if remembering something. It was a good stalling technique he had used a lot on friends at school. Finally he came up with a plausible story – or at least the first decent one that came to his mind.

"My friend went here once. Apparently we look really similar. It was really embarrassing – he and I were out once and he saw Sarge. Apparently Sarge was out on service leave. Sarge mistook me for my friend and called me to attention. I had know idea what he was doing. I mean, I'm just at the park with my friend and this big guy starts walking over, yelling at me? I was a little freaked to say the least."

Dog was grinning, and Shark and Lynx were shaking their heads in amusement.

"My friend rescued me. Thank god."

"So your friend came here? What was his name?" Dog asked curiously.

"Ah, he wasn't here for long." Alex replied uncertainly.

"We might still know him." Dog pressed.

_Uhh, should I risk it? _Alex mentally deliberated. _If I did it would get them off my back. And it would give me a good excuse if K-Unit thinks they recognize me. _Alex mentally took a deep breath and feigned confusion, "I think he was called...Umm. It was something strange, not like a type of animal you know. Cub, maybe? Yeah, that was it. Cub."

H-Unit's eyebrows rose, "You're friends with Cub? No way! That kid that was here for a couple of weeks?"

Alex feigned confusion, "I think so. I never did figure out how he got here in the first place...?"

"Apparently his rich Daddy paid for a trip here." Dog mocked, for some reason his voice had jumped an octave in pitch, "What's surprising is he actually made it. He didn't back out or anything. He's a legend here, you know?" Shark grinned.

"Sarge uses him as a binning opportunity." At Alex' awed confusion, he continued, "You know, 'I knew a school boy who could do this better than you soldiers!' An excuse to send Unit's on treks and stuff."

Inside Alex was grinning, but on the outside, he winced. "I didn't know he was that big a thing here."

"He probably doesn't either. He just disappeared one day, after messing around with the RTI activity. It was hilarious. Hey," realization dawned on Shark's face, "If you know him, you should...I dunno...call him and talk to him and stuff. Tell him what we said. We could have a talk to him."

"Thank god Wolf's not here, or he'll be yelling at him across the phone. They weren't too friendly I heard." Dog put in.

At Alex's hesitation, Shark continued, "Oh, don't you have his number? That sucks. I'm sure we can find on the files or something. If we hack, at least."

_Shit, now they're going to be digging around in my files. And if they really can hack, they'll know who I actually am. Was. _

"He's dead."

Even Alex was surprised by how sudden his excuse was. The rest of the unit looked shocked, Lynx's eyes flitted around the cabin in surprise, before he spoke quietly, "I'm sorry."

"Yeah." Alex forced his voice to become hoarse. He shook his head as to clear his mind.

"Nah, don't worry. I hadn't seen him in a while anyway." Alex continued, faking emotional pain.

"What happened?" Dog asked quietly. Shark nudged him disapprovingly.

"Car crash."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Nah, like I said, I hadn't seen him in ages."

There was a massive pause, until Lynx said, "We should probably tell K-Unit. They'll come back from a day exercise soon."

"Not for a few hours, at least."

Dog laughed, "You never know with them. They're pretty much the best. Apparently they nicked matches off Sarge once to start a fire for their rations. I can't remember who actually did it though..."

"Too risky if you ask me." Lynx growled. He was always the respectful one. Nicking matches off Sarge was _more_ than one step to far.

"I would if it was after a ridiculously long hike they did. We won't have to wait too long to tell them," Shark said sadly.

"What? Why would they care anyway?"

Dog laughed, obviously trying to shake off the bad feeling in the room.

"They say that the kid was an embarrassment, but the way they talk about him..."

"They seem to have liked him a lot. Eagle even said something about him saving Wolf from being binned. He was telling us when Wolf had walked into the cafeteria. After Eagle and Wolf disappeared, and not too quietly either, we didn't see Eagle when Wolf returned." Lynx continued.

"He came back the next day with a black eye." Alex laughed – really laughed, and then stopped when he realized he hadn't properly for a while.

"What did Eagle say?"

"After? Nothing. He had his mouth shut. But just before Wolf chased him out, he said something about an air jump. That's all we got."

"So, if there's Eagle and Wolf, who are the other two who knew him in K-Unit?"

"Snake, the medic, and Fox. I remember Fox left for a while for some reason. He left just after Cub, then just turned up as quickly as he left. Wolf seemed a bit down, but no one said anything. I mean, two members leaving all of a sudden? It's hard. He took it out on all the newbies that came to join. They ended up creating a new unit just for them after, because Wolf ended scaring them out of the team."

"We call it Broken-Unit. After what Wolf did to them. Mentally and physically!" Shark laughed, a low hearty laugh.

"Did he really miss Fox that much?" Alex was surprised, he didn't think Wolf had any emotions to be honest.

"And Cub. It was strange to be honest." Lynx's eyebrows furrowed down. A while ago, Alex had sat down on his bed, and now, after having moved around a bit the sheet was effectively covered in soot.

On that last, strangely nostalgic feeling, Alex got up. "You guys mind if I go have a shower?"

"Yeah sure. You know where they are?"

"No," Alex lied.

Dog pointed down the hill from where he was lying on his back, on his bed. "By the food hall. Behind Sarge's office."

"Ah. Cheers guys," Alex got up, and with a towel.

After a quick shower, clearing the soot off his face and out of his hair, he quickly dried off, looking around nonchalantly in case someone walked in.

He heard footsteps long before he saw anyone walk through the doors to the shower block.

By this time, he was already changed, and was just retying his laces on his heavy boots.

When he looked up a short, muscular, dark man was looking at him.

A taller man followed behind him.

"Wolf?" the second man asked.

The first man just ignored him, instead addressing Alex, "Do I know you?"

Alex, now finished with his boots, stood up to shake Wolf's hand. "Owl. Wolf, I'm guessing."

Wolf simply stared down at it, like it was an insult. Eventually he took it, replying, slowly, "Yeah... Owl huh?" The handshake was strong – painful almost – and Alex knew that the man was sizing him up. _They're so territorial here,_ Alex thought. _It's like I'm so intruder looking to steal their...pack. It would work at least...K-Unit is really just Wolf's pack._

It was odd thinking of it that way, but in most respects, it was true.

"I could swear I know you."

Alex just shrugged, "I get that a lot. I just joined H-Unit." He smiled. Wolf glared, though not for anything Alex said. Alex had learnt from his previous stay here, that glaring was pretty much how Wolf looked all the time. _Maybe he's waiting for the wind to change again..._

"I'll see you later then." Alex disengaged from the increasingly painful (and long) handshake.

"Are you sure I don't know you?" Inside, Alex was cringing. He had tried to change himself as much as possible before even getting _in _the jeep that would bring him here. He had gotten a completely different hair style – short and cropped – as well as naturally having gotten taller and grown up.

Having compared himself to an old picture of him with Tom, he was quite satisfied with how different he looked, but apparently it wasn't different enough. If Wolf still recognized him, Fox wouldn't have any trouble at all.

"Who do you think I am?" Alex laughed.

"Just...no, never mind."

"Who?" Alex asked, letting the curiosity of Sam take over.

"Cub." Wolf looked into Alex's eyes critically, searching for a reaction.

Alex sighed. "I was talking about this to my unit. Apparently he went here before right?"

The two men nodded, confused by Alex's sudden change in demeanor.

"I often get mixed up with him. I knew him once though. We were friends."

The taller man nodded, but Wolf continued, "'Were?' You don't still know him?"

Again, Alex had to project a bitterness into his voice.

"He died in a car crash."

Wolf paled, and the man behind him took a step back, as if to steady himself.

"He's...he's dead? Cub's dead?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you were so close to him."

Wolf glanced up from the floor. His eyes had hardened.

"We weren't. He was nothing but a tag-a-long. We simply knew him, that's all." He growled.

Alex didn't let the shock pass over is face from the sudden edge to Wolf's words. Even the man behind him – Eagle, Alex had remembered – was shocked.

A mask of indifference appeared as soon as Wolf's compassion had disappeared, had it ever existed at all.

"Just letting you know then. And he seemed like more of a person to be just a tag-a-long." Alex growled.

Wolf glared, but Alex wasn't fazed. _Is this him being emotional, or did I take it a step too far? _Alex pondered.

"I should go." He said, abruptly.

He left without anyone saying another word.

On his way back to the cabin, he felt two pairs of eyes boring into his back.

_Not a great start, Alex. _Mentally chiding himself, he sighed, resigned to the long trek up the hill.

**Wolf**

I watched the way the young man walked back up the hill.

It was him. But no, it couldn't be. But it was. But it _wasn't_.

I shook myself, growling. Eagle interrupted my thoughts, "You really think it was him?"

"I dunno Eagle. It looks like him, and sounds like him. But Owl is so different to Cub. Cub was so..."

"Innocent?"

I looked at my team mate in surprise. The taller man continued, "I noticed it too. He looks really...serious I guess. I don't know how to describe it. His eyes are just so cold, you know? I can't describe it, but you saw, right?"

"Yeah." I nodded. I knew what Eagle was trying to say.

It had been a while since Wolf was shocked as to what to say. He couldn't put his thoughts in words, and even if he could they would be a train wreck.

He resigned himself to sleep on it, before confronting Owl to ask how much he knew about Cub.

When he got back to the cabin, he didn't have to explain anything. It's good that Eagle did though, because Wolf looked rather disturbed.

Last time he had seen Cub, he had been riding down a mountain on an ironing board. He had really hoped the kid had gotten himself out of a soldier's world.

"We'll check later, OK Wolf?" Snake reassured.

"Yeah, I'm sure we'll recognize him if it _is_ him." Eagle repeated, the third time that night.

The Point Blanc incident must have been a one off. Cub wasn't a dumb kid; he knew that this life wasn't the most desirable. Teenagers should be able to complain about homework and not getting enough of a sleep in on the weekends. Not terrorists and drug gangs.

_No, Owl's just some guy that knew Cub when he was younger. _But if they were the same age, Owl would only be...16? 17 maybe? How long had it been since Cub was here?

_Owl isn't Cub. He can't be. _Wolf hated himself for that moment. Because he couldn't figure out why he was so worried about this.

Cub and Owl seem so similar. The appearance, obviously, but the lazy lop-sided grin, that mask of indifference, that calculating, collected look.

Nothing was making sense.

Owl can't possibly be Cub.

_Right?_

**I'm definitely not satisfied with this. I wrote this in one night, and I'm pretty much improvising when it comes to the plot.**

**I guess I'll have K-Unit find out eventually, but still...I dunno.**

**It seems really boring this chapter...like a filler.**

**Oh well, I wrote it really quickly. I haven't updated for a while.**

**Sorry guys,**

**xxx T**


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